Falling Or Floating?
by JapSock
Summary: When the Elric brothers went to investigate a small town where Scar had been spotted, they got way more then they bargened for. Now safely in Risembool, the boys are glad that it's over. They are wrong. The fun is just beginning. ENVYxED RR


Wow, it has been a while since I have posted anything on FF.N! Well, since I have been role playing with a buddy of mine. A lot of ideas have popped up. Well, this one was my favorite. Yes, this is a yaoi fic and it is also an EDxENVY fic. So if you do not like either one I suggest you hit the back arrow on your explorer now. Last chance for the yaoi is about to begin!

Oh, yeah! Before I forget, I must do a disclaimer. As you all know, my name is not Arakawa Hiromu. It's Tabi-chan. So, I am obviously not the creator of the manga or any of the characters. Another thing, you people are not paying me to read this, so I am not making any money off it whatsoever. This disclaimer is for my whole fic. I don't want to repeat myself if I decide to post this as a two part fic.

This story is for Anna!  
Love you, babydoll.

* * *

_Falling Or Floating?_

By: Tabi-chan

(JapSock)

Most stories usually begin with a fresh start. No general plot, nor a purpose. What about why the person is in the situation? Well, in this story, the Elric brothers were already involved before they even knew it. Now, I am going to tell you how. It all started when the colonel arranged to see Edward in his office. With haste the FullMetal alchemist hurried into the large office only to learn that he would be sent on another mission and to take Alphonse with him.

This mission was meant for him, but since he was quote: "too busy with paper work", which means he just wanted to stay and chase Riza around the desk, the boys were sent.

"Mustang, why the hell do we have to go?!" the eldest Elric brother asked while slamming his steel fist on Mustang's desk, but only a smirk crawled across his pale face as he rose his gloved hand to his chin.

"Edward, you signed up for the military willingly, therefore it is your duty to serve the military and obey your commanding officers, which I can remind you, if you have forgotten, who that is," he always gave the same excuses. Edward could almost quote them. He would hate to be kicked out of the military and forced to watch his younger brother suffer for the rest of his, and by 'his' I mean Ed's, life just because his stubborn older brother didn't feel like listening to Mustang's mouth. It wasn't fair, but Edward made a promise and said he see everything through to the end.

This time they were sent to a small town that wasn't to far from Risembool. Their mission was to investigate the area because Scar has been seen through there. The train ride was long and boring. It was a two day ride to get there and the only way of entertain themselves was either reading, talking, sleeping, looking out the window, or walking around the train and we all know how fun that is.

"Nii-san, how much longer do you think it's gonna be?" asked Al.

"We should be pulling up in the next couple of hours," Ed replied with a sigh.

"Oh, ok I was just wondering."

"I know, I'm bored too," Ed stretched and leaned against the window watching the evening sky. 'Damn, it's gonna be dark soon' he thought to himself. His golden eyes watched as the sky was starting to swirl into a beautiful mixture of pinks, purples, and blues. The giant orange orb was proceeding to crawl behind the plains to rest, taking the light with it. Edward looked down at this automail arm and ran his hand over the cool shiver of steel. He liked it, but he also hated it. What sixteen your old wouldn't think it was cool? Even though he thought it awesome, but it reminded him of that day. So, some days he couldn't bare to even look at it.

Before he knew it, the train had began to slow down as it pulled into the station. They were both so happy to get off that stupid thing, they could kiss the ground, but didn't. "Shouldn't we call and tell Mustang we are here?" asked Al while grabbing their luggage. Ed rolled his eyes and grabbed the suitcase from his brother and began making his way through the station.

When they arrived at a small bed and breakfast, Alphonse called the colonel telling him that they have arrived safe and sound and about to hit the hay. After saying a few more words, Al hung up and looked over at Edward. He was fast asleep. A light snore was coming from him. The suit of armor trotted his way to the bed and laid down.

The next morning, oh around seven or so, Ed Elric had awoken. Al wasn't there. He must have already gone downstairs. Ed hopped into the shower, got dressed, then headed downstairs. Sure enough Al was already down there sitting in a maple wood chair and leaning on the table. "Good morning, Nii-san,"

said Al when he saw his brother coming down the stairs. Ed was wearing his usual black muscle shirt and pants with his red jacket.

"Morning," he replied while sticking his watch into his pants pocket.

"What are we doing today?" he asked.

Ed took a seat at across from his brother and ordered a coffee, "We have to go and check out the area. If Mustang expects us to inspect every little nook and cranny then he has sorely mistaken." The chibi alchemist took a sip out of his coffee and looked at his brother who was just staring blankly at him.

"Nii-san, you know Risembool is not to far from here," Alphonse pronounced.

Fullmetal contemplated his brother, then rested his chin on his real arm, "It's funny, but I was just thinking about that."

"Then we may want to check on Winry and Aunt Pinako." Al did make a good point, it was something Ed had to agree with. He nodded in reply and took another drink from his coffee before setting it down.

Even if he was in the military and was forced to get up early all the time, Ed would never become a morning person. He was always a jerk when he woke up, every now and then he would surprise everyone and be in a good mood. Mustang always told him he needed a good lay and he would be fine. What did he know? He was a man whore and now his target was Riza, poor girl. Ed knew this because he had walked in on several occasions and found him flirting with not just Riza, but several women.

It made Ed sick to even think about it. After finishing his coffee and waking up, Ed pulled out his map and studied it to get an idea of what the town looked like. He saw that there was a bar near the edge of town and that it wasn't to far from where they were staying. Ed smirked, "Al, we're gonna go here first. Maybe they know something," Ed said as he pointed to the map.

Once there, the blonde walked up to the bar and sat down on a black leather stool, Al joined him. The bartender who was behind the counter drying a glass looked at the two with a hint of interest. "What can I do for you, little man?" That was all it took to set Ed off, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT AN ANT COULD STEP ON HIM!!??"

The bartender just shook his head, "Calm down, I didn't mean to offend you," he said, serenely, unaffected by his words. Edward just pouted. Al looked at the bartender as he set the glass down and picked up another, beginning to clean it, "We are looking for an Ishbalan man. He has silver hair and an "X" shaped scar that crosses his eyes and forehead. He also has an alchemic matrix tattooed on his right arm." When Al said this the bartender stopped wiping the glass and sat it down. "A scarred man, you say," said the man, "That sounds familiar. Why do you wanna know?"

Edward's head perked up. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his pocket watch. The man looked at it and smiled, "Ah, a military man," he said, "figures."

"What does that mean?" asked Ed as he put the watch back into his pocket.

Another man, who Edward couldn't really make out because of the lighting and also because he had a hood over him, sat at the end of the bar sipping on a drink, spoke up, "He means to say is that no one comes here asking questions unless there is a person that goes missing or if the military is after someone." Ed wondered if it was that obvious if he was in the military. Ed looked back at the bartender who was now mixing a drink. "Aren't you a little young to be in the military," said the hooded man.

The blonde shot an evil glare, "No, I am not, thank you," he grumbled.

Ed tried not to think about the man at the end on the bar and focus on what the bartender had to say. "So, barkeep, do you know anything?" said Ed. The bartender shook his head, "I only know is what I have heard and that is the man you speak of was here about two days ago."

The chibi alchemist smiled, "You were told this by whom?"

The bartender thought for a second, "Mayumi. Yamaguchi Mayumi. She works the night shift."

"She lives on Twine Street. She might be sick, I haven't seem her in a couple of days," he said as he handed Edward a small piece of paper with the girl's address on it. The blonde smirked, "Thanks barkeep," he said, "Let's go Alphonse." The brothers got up and began heading out of the tavern. The bartender shook his head, "This is the second person to come through here looking for this man," he said to himself. He looked at the end of the bar to see that the hooded man was gone.

Finding the place wasn't hard. To make sure he was correct Ed asked an elderly woman who was watering her flowers if it was Yamaguchi's residence.

"Yes, it is. She should be home, I saw her go in yesterday. She maybe sick, she didn't look so well." Ed smiled and thanked her. The brothers approached

the house. The eldest Elric peeked into the window, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Al knocked on the heavy wooden door several times by now, but still no answer.

"Everyone said that she might be sick, so should we just come back?" the armored suit asked.

It took a second for his brother to answer back, he then noticed that the door was slightly ajar. "No, something doesn't seem quite right. Maybe we should go in." Typical for Alphonse to disagree. Breaking and entering, he remined his brother, but it took all of Ed's cunning to think of a loop... that is what you call sarcasam, my dear readers.

"Tell you what, Al, I'll go in. You can stay out here."

"I don't know," he replied.

"Al, I'll only be a second. Then we can leave. If we find nothing here, we'll go and visit Winry and Aunt Pinako," the chibi alchemist knew that would get his brother's attention.

"Ok, but hurry up."

Ed nodded and pushed the heavy wooden door, it make a loud creaking at first, but the wider the door got the creaking ceased. He slowly stepped onto the hardwood floor and searched for a light switch, since there were thick curtains covering most of the windows, but no luck The only thing Edward heard were the sounds of his own footsteps that made the floor creak under his weight with every step he took.

He noticed that the place wasn't the tidiest. Clothes and paper decorated the floor, and piled in the corners. Ed studied the rooms to try to get a perspective of what the house looked like. It was a pretty big house for only a single person to take residence and by the looks of it, the house was pretty old. The paint was fading from the walls, the floors creaked on just about every step the alchemist took, and the ceiling was higher than more modern homes.

"Miss Yamaguchi," he called as he popped his head into a room, but it find it empty.

He repeated himself as he searched several different rooms. When he pulled the two heavy wooden doors apart, he entered a room that looked like the one she must have been staying in. There were tissues that dotted around a waste bin and on bed next to it. Ed cringed in disgust. He thought of how gross people really are. Being sick is no reason to miss a trash can that isn't even a foot away from you. Ew!

The house seemed to be empty by what he could tell and since he couldn't find (or bother to look for) any light switches, this search was complete. Besides, he was getting sick of tripping and slipping on clothes. He figured he would search the back room and leave.

As the alchemist pulled apart another set of heavy wooden doors he, in the distance, could hear what sounded like water running. This immediately caught his attention. He sighed and approached the door that led into what looked like the bathroom. It was sightly ajar.

"Miss Yamaguchi," he knocked lightly, "my apologizes for entering. My name is Edward Elric and I am with the military. Would it be ok to ask you a few questions?"

Silence was the only response he received. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. What is with this woman? First, she leaves her front door opened and now she is refusing to talk to the only person who has probably been her first visitor in days.

This was really starting to irritate the chibi alchemist. He didn't really want to go on the godforsaken mission anyway. He sighed again and knocked again, but this time a little louder, "Miss Yamaguchi," he spoke slightly louder. He really hated it repeat himself. It was more annoying than... Roy Mustang. He knocked again, but with a little more frustration in his tone.

When he knocked this time, the door opened about an inch wider. That was when it hit him. A strange odor that drifted out of the room. He backed away for a minute and turned around, thinking it was maybe something in the room, but the room was surprisingly cleaner than the rest. Edward leaned closer to the door. It was coming from the bathroom. It had a slight sour smell that had a hint of iron, no, the iron smell was much stronger.

"Yamaguchi?" he pushed open the door, the toilet was the first thing he saw. He crinkled his nose as he entered, he saw inside the toilet was a large amount of vomit. He reached over and closed the lid and pushed down the handle, flushing the greenish brown mess away. "I guess that everyone wasn't lying when they said she was sick." Ed shuddered at the thought as he made his way out the door, when he noticed another sliding door. This was where the running water was coming from.

Once again he called out for Miss Yamaguchi, but still no answer. "Is anybody there," he asked, sliding the door about an inch across the track, just enough to peek in. Inside he saw an arm with wet chestnut hair draping halfway down it. He stepped back, a light pink glow rose to his cheeks. I didn't know anyone was there, he thought to himself. "Miss Yamaguchi?" he asked again.

Ed knew then, for sure, something wasn't right. The smell of iron and decay was flowing out of the crack of the door. He slid the door as far back as the track would allow him to. He thought he was going to be sick, the smell was so strong. Ed brought his red jacket sleeve to his nose to block out some of the smell as he entered.

When he laid eyes on Mayumi he retched, covering his mouth and nose. Mayumi Yamaguchi was laying naked, dead, in the bottom of her bathtub. The sound of running water he heard was the shower running. The woman's face, or what was left of it, and body were grotesquely swollen from the water. It was similar to a Scar killing. Some blood remained splattered on the walls. The rest most have gone down the drain.

It looked like she broke her arm against the tub when she fell. For it was bent in an unnatural position. In fact, you could actually see the bone protruding in a purple hump on her inner forearm. It was one of the most horrible, and disgusting things Edward has seen in his young life.

The back of the woman's head looked to be blown completely out, in fact the chunk of bone and flesh, with some hair still attached, was hanging from her head. Edward wanted to scream, he wanted to show the terror and disgust and anger he felt, but nothing happened. Visions of his failed human transmutation from several years back flashed before his eyes, making his knees weak. The stench was making him lightheaded. His legs were beginning to feel like noodles, he had to get out of there.

The small alchemist quickly scattered from the room and out of the toilet room, not bothering to close it. His legs were wobbly, but he kept running. His couldn't see a thing due to the poor lighting and heavy doors blocking out the sun's rays, but he kept running. Running and running. As he made his way through the hallway, he lost his balance and trip/slid on a discarded shirt that was laying in the middle of the hall.

Edward quickly jumped it his feet and continued down the hall. The floor squeaked loudly due to the pressure he was forcing down on it from the run. There was the front door. It was a few feet away, but to Edward it seemed like it were miles away, to him everything was as if he were trapped in a time warp.

The next thing Ed knew was he was back at the front porch on his hands and knees. His breathing was fast. It seemed like he was inside for hours, but according to Alphonse it was only ten minutes. "Nii-san, what happened to you in there?" the suit of armor asked as he bent over and placed his gloved hand on his brother's back. Edward continue to pant and stare at the floor.

"Nii-san, What happened?" he asked again.

"Alshonse, we need to get out of here," was the only response he got from the small alchemist.

The armored boy rose to his feet. He knew that something bad had to have happened. It didn't take a genius to figure that one out. By the tone of his brother's voice it had to be pretty brutal. He helped his brother up. "Someone paid a visit to Miss Yamaguchi before we did," he said, "it looked like a Scar killing. It was his 'style'."

"Do you think we should call Colonel Mustang and let him knew of this?"

Edward shot a death glare at his sibling, "Mustang!" he laughed, "That bastard sent us here in the first place. What makes you think he would take time out of his 'busy schedule' to come here and take care of this?"

"But, brother, we can't let her stay in there and rot. It's just not human."

"No," spat Ed, pointing back to the house, "what happen to that poor woman wasn't human!"

"Edward," began Alphonse, "you are now part of the military. Aren't you supposed to report things such as this? Some would call it an assassination."

"How do you figure that?"

"Think about it: Two people come here, one in the military, asking strange questions, go to a woman's house, find her dead, then don't report it. Come on, Ed, they'll think we killed her or were involved in some way. I don't want to see you stripped of your title and outcaste. I'm counting on you."

The blonde headed boy smirk, "Unless we kill the bartender and the elderly woman next door."

"That's not funny, brother," Al's voice was stern.

"Alright. I'll get ahold of Maes and see what we can do," he said.

The two entered the house. Once inside Al quickly found the light switch that his brother failed to find earlier. Ed rolled his eyes and quickly found a phone that was resting on a table in the hallway. When someone finally picked up the boys were informed my Hawkeye that Maes wasn't not in, so Roy was to next person to be put on the line.

Ed really didn't want to talk to him, but he had no choice but to do so. He told Mustang about what they had learned from the bartender. He also went about telling him of what happened when they got to Miss Yamaguchi's house. Though after all the drama the boys had gone through, Roy still had to crack a laugh.

"Amazing, FullMetal. Simply amazing. I sent you on a small mission to gather information and you call me up reporting a murder," he chuckled, "Are you sure you aren't responsible?"

The eldest Elric took in a sharp breath, "This is no time for cracks Mustang. We are in the house of a dead woman and need to get her out of here."

"I am aware of that, Ed. We have some people nearby, we'll sent them there hastily. You are off the case. Just wait until they get there. I'll need a location."

After giving the colonel the address he told him that they would be back after making a side trip to Risembool. Roy allowed it because he thought that the boys could use a break. The boys were allowed a four day vacation before being called back to central. Ed thanked the man and placed the phone back on its cradle.

The boys sat on the porch. Small talk was exchanged to pass the time. Surprisingly, it did not take long for the soldiers to arrive. Edward pointed them in the direction of where he found the body. He told the top soldier everything that happened. He told him all the information the bartender had given him. After he was dismissed, the brothers made there way back to the bed and breakfast in which they were staying. Oh, how he longed to leave that place.

"Alphonse, remind me to never darken this towns doorstep for as long as I live and if I do, punch me. Punch me right in the nose."

A small chuckle came from the suit of armor, "Nii-san, you got a deal."

Edward noticed the clouds that masked the sky. The darkness fell upon the land. Time had gone by fast, it had to be at least four o'clock. Pedestrians that once roamed the streets, either going to work or children running and laughing, had gradually vacated.

Talk of a storm seem to make since to the Elrics as small droplets caressed the eldest brother's cheek. _Ping! _Alphonse looked around in surprise. _Ping! Ping!_ "Nii-san, it's raining," he said looking down at his sibling. Edward smirked, "I'm aware," his smart alack tone made the suit of armor stay silent. The rain wasn't heavy, but it still damped Edward's clothing. They passed the tavern they had visited earlier that day. Soldiers stood at either side of the entrance. Obviously they were talking the owner about their former employee.

As the rain came down more frequently, their attention was pulled away from the tavern. Making their was up the steps and inside the bed and breakfast. A women who was sitting at the front desk saw the boys and smiled. She saw that they were pretty wet. When she saw the mud coming up the side of Ed's boots her attitude changed, "Take off your shoes!" she shouted, making the siblings almost jump three feet in the air. "Heh, I'm sorry, ma'am," he shouted back before scrambled to the floor.

The teen quickly pulled off his muddy boots and apologized once more. Alphonse lifted up his steel boots to show no mud was there. The women nodded and smiled once more. Edward picked up his boots and headed back to the room. A loud sigh came from the blonde alchemist as he made his way to the bathroom. He was doing anything he could to hide how the sight of the bloated corpse affected him.

Hot water sprayed the bottom on the white tiled floor. Ed stripped from his clothing and stepped under the water. He had to wash away the smell of sweat and oil (from his automail) that covered him. The water felt to good against his formed chest. He grasped the bar of with his real hand. He didn't want to grab it with his steel hand because the last time he spent an hour making sure the chucks soap were out between the joints of his automail. He didn't want that to happen again.

He could still this the woman's face as if he were still in front of her. He shuddered at the thought. His eyes settled on his naked form as he lathered the soap on his body, then letting the water stray it off. His shower didn't last much longer. All he wanted to do now was sleep.

He stepped out of the shower, steel leg first. The alchemist slid the door back as far as the track allowed and entered the cool dressing room. The reflection of himself caught his eye. He turned his head to see his full length in the mirror. Edward slowly moved towards it to get a better look. He grabbed a soft white towel that rested on a chair and wiped away the fog that gathered on the glass.

As Edward studied hid features, he noticed the bags under his eyes. For a while now his sleeping habits haven't been that good. He would wake up all hours of the night. Though he was starting to fear his youthful features would fade due to the stressful days of his life, his worries were simply in his head. He began to towel off his body, then his hair. About twenty minutes later he emerged from the bathroom and went to bed.

That next day at that train station, sat the Elrics on a bench adjacent to the boarding platform. Both boys wanted to get out of the community as soon as they possibly could. The train was an hour late and Edward's patience was wearing thin. "Where the hell is that damned train?" he growled.

"Nii-san, it'll be here shortly. No need to swear," replied Alphonse.

A loud irritated sigh emerged the blonde as he stood. He began to think of possibilities for the delay. So far no real good reason came up. He scratched the back on his neck and moved forward on the platform. The sunlight spread across the vast plains. When a ray of light hit his face he winced and slightly shifted his to the right before turning back, taking in the sun's gift of light.

It was a beautiful day. The sky cleared from the storm that occurred the night before. All but a few clouds spotted the sky. It was not too warm, though it was not cold either. A gentle breeze blew locks of golden hair over Edward's face. He shifted his head quickly to move the hair out of his vision. Songs of the birds echoed as they flew overhead. Anyone who was the sight that Ed saw would have to say it was a beautiful. It looked as if it were out of a painting.

"In a way, I envy the folks that live here."

"I know, it is pretty out here, Nii-san," said the younger Elric.

Edward looked back at his brother. He noticed that not many people were there. In fact, there was only three other people standing around waiting for the train as well as they were. There was a young woman, who didn't even look sixteen holding a baby. She wore a white cloak and had most on her face covered. Her tone was dark and her eyes red, obviously an Ishbalan. The infant she held was wrapped up in a light blue blanket sound asleep.

He wondered why she kept herself hidden like so. The girl had a small frame and by the youthful features, by what he could see, in the upper portion on her face, she seemed as if she would be too young for a child. Was it some kind of shameful thing to have a child out of wedlock? Or was it because she was Ishbalan? He knew it was none of his business. Very slowly he saw Alsphonse approached her, her eyes met him when he was became within a few feet of her.

At first she seemed a little intimidated by his appearance and held the baby closer to her breast. The armored boy sat on the bench beside her. "You have a cute baby," he said sincerely. The girl's face lit up. She loosened her hold on the baby and let the boy get a better look at him. Though her face was shielded he could tell she was smiling.

"Thank you very much, sir," she replied.

"No, I'm not-," he stopped himself, "never mind." Alphonse bowed at the young girl and started back to his brother, "You should not hide such a pretty face."

Before he could get back to his brother he saw the train in the distance. A loud screeching came from the breaks of the locomotive. Ed gritted his teeth until it made a complete halt. Al grabbed the suitcase then followed this sibling to the boarding platform. Few people exited the train, but that wasn't a worry. They were still in a hurry to leave. Once on board, the Elrics found a nice spot in the back. The window faced the plains. Since Risembool wasn't too far away, the tried not to get comfortable.

An exaggerated yawn came from the eldest Eric. A low growl caught his attention, it was his stomach. That's right, he hadn't eaten in a while. A guess would be the events from the previous day would probably have something to do with it. Edward leaned back in the seat and took in a deep breath,but it was followed by another growl from his tummy. "Man, I'm starving," he said, gesturing to his stomach, "I should have eaten before we left, seeing how late this damned train was, I would've had time to eat and take a nap."

Alphonse laughed a little, "I think you're probably right. Do you think the snack car is open?"

"No," Edward shook his head, "it opens later in the day."

"Well, no worries, we should be there in about an hour."

Edward pulled out a book from his suitcase and began to skim though the pages. He was a very fast reader. It was hard to believe that he was still reading the same book for almost two weeks. When Al asked him about it, he was corrected by his sibling. He was rereading it for the third time.

It was an old alchemy book he found in the central library. By the looks of it, it seemed to not have been touched in a while. The spine was wearing out, making some of the pages loose and that the words on the cover had almost disappeared. Without a doubt the book had to be over a hundred years old. Which is an acceptable age seeing how big the Central library was.

_Why was he rereading it? _That was what kept running through Al's mind, but soon it left and started wandering around the train. The people on the train were mostly quiet. Two individuals in the front were having a conversation and the woman from earlier was singing to her baby.

That was when he noticed a charcoal colored hood over the top of the seat. Who would wear such a thing on such a nice day? Al leaned inward and got his brother's attention.

"Nii-san," he whispered making Ed turn away from his book, "Isn't that the man from the bar yesterday?" Ed popped his head over the seat and saw the man sitting by himself. "You're right, that's him. I know he gave me the creeps. Kinda still does."

This conversation didn't last too long because Al started thinking about the book again and had to ask, "Why are you rereading that book?"

"I am trying to understand what it means. It shows many illustrations of alchemic matrixes, but gives no definite explanations of what they are or do. It also speaks of how the red water reacts to alchemy, but never says why. It is very confusing."

"Hmm, well, I have faith in you." Al would have smiled if he could.

Though he didn't really help his brother in that situation, he made his brother laugh. Within the next hour, the train ported again. A man shouted into the cart that they were in Risembool, which made the siblings overjoyed. Ed, because he was starving and Al because he badly wished to see Winry. After exiting the station, they made their journey down the long road to the Rockbell residence.

Being noticed by neighbors and people that they grew up with, made Ed feel like he was more at home. He waved to whoever greeted them and went on their way. Small talk was for after he ate.

When they arrived Al quickly knocked on the door. Pinako, with her trademark pipe in hand, opened the door. "Well, I'll be damned. Didn't think we'd see you for a while." She allowed them inside and called for the bouncy blonde. Winry appeared in a light purple jumpsuit and a wrench in hand. She was obviously working on the automail.

"Hey Winry." greeted Edward. putting his suitcase down.

A smirk crossed her lips, "What brings you two here?"

"We were doing some investigating not too far from here. We thought we'd come by and see how things are," said Al.

"How sweet," she teased, "Are you sure Ed didn't do something with his arm?"

"Hey! My limbs are just fine!" protested the older Elric.

"Alway boys, make yourselves at home." Those words were like music to Ed's ears. He quickly made his way to the icebox, but before he could touch the handle, his hand was smacked by a wench, "Hey, why did you do that?"

"No eating until supper. Right now we're going to check out that automail." It was like she could wait to dig in his limbs. Just to tinker around in something. Typical Winry.

"Come on! I haven't eaten in two days!" he proclaimed.

"That's your fault. Now come on."

Winry pulled the chibi alchemist into the "Automail works" if you will. Ed took off his red overcoat and threw it on the chair that was resting in the corner, then pulled off his black muscle shirt and let it join the red on the chair. He walked over to the girl and sat in the chair by her. It was a specially make chair with two high arm rest for easy access to the automail and two separate leg rests. Edward lifted his on onto the right arm rest, letting Winry do her work.

Small talk was passed between the two to pass the time.

"Your arm looks like it is in good shape," she said.

"I told you. I haven't really been doing much sine I came here last."

"Well, better safe than sorry," she replied as she pulled up the leg rest, motioning for him to place his leg there. "Oh, take off your pants," he said with a smirk.

"What the hell is this, a burlesque house?!" he exclaimed.

"Ed," she laughed a little, "you should know what to do by now. No need for modesty."

Edward unbuckled his belt and slipped it out of the loops. A crimson shade flushed his cheeks as he undid the button and unzipped the zipper. He kicked off his shoes, making them hit the wall. He pulled down his black leather trousers to reveal a pair of baby blue boxers. "You have got quite the package on you, Edo," she teased. The flush on crimson on his cheeks began to glow brighter. "Shut up," he murmured back to her.

After a moment he heard Winry say something about how it looked like he had grown slightly. When she asked him if he wanted her to replace the limb with one that matched his height he declined. It's not like it he had grown a lot, just a little under a half of a centimeter. He was still able to walk, just had a small limp.

When his automail check over was complete he slipped on his pants and left the room, leaving articles of clothing, and rejoined Alphonse and Pinako in the kitchen. She was fixing dinner and chatting with the younger Elric. "Dinner will be done within the hour, if you want to rest you may. Just don't get to comfortable." She looked back at the golden eyed boy and saw that he accepted her offer of rest and was already heading into the living room to lie down.

By this time Edward was unaware that Alphonse had told Pinako what happened when they journeyed to the town and why they paid a visit to see if they were adequate.

When Pinako was asked about the scarred man she claimed to have not contemplate such a man. He was grateful that Scar had not been seen though the area. He thanked her for abolish his worries.

"No, thank you, Al. Even though there are not many, or any at all, state alchemist in these parts. It's good to have a warning," was all the woman had to say.

* * *

_To be continued..._

Well, how was that for a first chapter? Yes, I know. I rushed though some things, but I it was hard to prolong some things. Oh, Envy should be coming in very soon. Or has he already showed up? Makes you think huh? By the way, some of you don't know this, but Yamaguchi Mayumi is the name of the Japanese voice actress that plays Envy.

Since I couldn't think of a name right off the bat, I looked at the artist of the song I was listening to: _Mirai_ by Yamaguchi Mayumi. Please be patient for the next chapter. I have come to realize that the year 2007 has not greeted me with open arms. It has more or less spit in my face. I have had many bad things happen and still many things going on at the moment.

Now, trust me I will update, it might just not be as soon as some may hope.

Much love,

Tabi-chan


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